Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950) is an American television and film actor, producer and composer. He began his television career in 1976 as Dr. Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver(1985–1992). Anderson later appeared in films, including Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992), Pandora’s Clock (1996) and Firehouse (1997).
In 1997, Anderson returned to television as the lead actor of the series Stargate SG-1, a spinoff of the 1994 film Stargate, directed by Roland Emmerich. He played the lead from 1997-2005 and had a recurring role from 2005-07. He was also featured as a guest actor in the American animation show, The Simpsons in the episode “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore”. Since 1997, the only film Anderson has starred in is Stargate: Continuum released in 2008 as a spinoff film after Stargate SG-1 was cancelled in 2007.
Anderson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Stuart Jay Anderson (died in 2003) and Jocelyn Rhae Carter and was the oldest of four brothers. He has Scottish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry. He grew up in Roseville, Minnesota and attended Ramsey High School. As a kid, Anderson wanted to become a professional hockey player; this dream was shattered when he broke both his arms. Anderson developed an early interest in music, art and acting. For a short time he tried to become a jazz musician. Eventually he studied to become an actor at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and later at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota but dropped out before he received his degree because he felt “listless”. Right after his junior year in high school, Anderson participated with friends in a cross-country bike ride from Minnesota to Alaska. He then moved to San Francisco, then New York, then moved permanently to Los Angeles. At the start he was making a living with juggling among other things.
Anderson’s first role was in the American soap opera, General Hospital as Dr. Jeff Webber from 1976 to 1981. In 1982-1983 He starred as Adam in the CBS television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (based very loosely on the movie of the same name). In the 1983-1984 season, he played Lieutenant Simon Adams on the 22-week Dennis Weaver series Emerald Point N.A.S. on CBS, stealing away Celia Warren (Susan Dey), the wife of naval lawyer Jack Warren (Charles Frank). Anderson then played Tony Kaiser in the acclaimed TV movie Ordinary Heroes, which aired in 1986.
